Clinical Mentorship / Training Program in Zimbabwe in partnership with UNICEF

The Twice The Doctor foundation is proud to have contributed nearly $250,000 to Unicef programs in Sierra Leone. Other agencies/ NGOs are now providing support to Sierra Leone health systems particularly after the high profile effects of the Ebola epidemic.

Our partnership with UNICEF will now be targeting the huge need in Zimbabwe as I intimated in my last newsletter. The program fits in beautifully with TTD’s philosophy of supporting training for medical staff as a super-effective way to deliver sustained impact and to fulfil our desire to “virtually volunteer”.

We may be sceptical about delivery of medical services in countries that may not have as rigorous checks and balances as we enjoy but this is precisely why we are so pleased that Unicef will be administering/ overseeing.

Clinical Mentorship / Training Program in Zimbabwe

This project builds the capacity of practitioners at district hospitals to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care services, including Caesarean sections and blood transfusions.

Aim – support for senior specialist doctors from central hospitals to mentor/ train junior doctors and other practitioners at district hospitals, working together at both the central hospital and with the specialist doctor attending the district hospital.

Method – clinical mentorship is recognised as a strategy to save more lives and ‘decongests’ referral hospitals by enabling less complicated emergencies to be handled effectively at district hospitals.

Beneficiaries – emergency care teams in district hospitals, who are able to provide better ante and neonatal care and life-saving interventions for mothers and newborn babies. Emergency care staff includes doctors, nurse anaesthetists, clinical officers, midwives and theatre nurses from hospitals in Kariba, Gweru, Shamva, Binga and Chegutu districts.

Statistics on Zimbabwe

Population – 13.5 million

Population below 15 years of age – 41%

Maternal mortality – 614 per 100,000 births (c/w Australia – 6.8)

Under 5 mortality – 75 per 1,000 births (c/w Australia – 4)

Risk of death for pregnant women – 1 in 42

Number of people living in extreme poverty (< $1.50/day) – 1.6 million

A note from Tony Stuart, Chief Executive, UNICEF Australia

“Twice the Doctor Foundation is working with UNICEF to give Australian doctors like you the chance to double your impact as health workers. By donating a single day’s salary, you can make a huge difference for women and children in Zimbabwe.”